Navy dissolves unmanned systems office

The Navy has disestablished the office of the deputy assistant secretary for unmanned systems and the service will transfer the portfolio to the "appropriate" deputy assistant secretary offices, Inside Defense has learned.

"The successful completion and submission of the Department of the Navy's comprehensive Unmanned Systems Roadmap to Congress signifies the completion of the tasking received via Secretary of the Navy's November 13, 2015 memorandum titled 'Treat Unmanned as Unmanned (TUAU),'" according to an April 30 memo issued by Navy acquisition executive Hondo Geurts. The disestablishment is effective May 7, the memo adds.

The service will continue to integrate unmanned systems into every facet of the organization, he wrote.

"This is a logical point to move forward as expressed in our Goals and Roadmap,” Geurts wrote. “Both documents state that the integration of manned and unmanned systems into a seamless fighting force is an objective of our unmanned systems strategy and critical to our future naval force.”

In February 2017, the Navy eliminated the directorate for unmanned systems on the chief of naval operations' staff (N99). At the time, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran told reporters dissolving N99 would help the integration of unmanned and manned systems, as well as save billets and manpower.